Chapter 89 Hamburg ocean-going commercial trade fleet
July 1, 1867.
The "North German Confederation Constitution" came into force.
The meaning of this constitution is that Prussia legally dominates the affairs and military and political power in the North German region. Maintained the dominant position of Prussia in the Federation and the overriding power of the Prussian king in the government, and also put on the cloak of democracy.
North Germany has become Prussia's private land in legal form, through this shareholder wind.
Ernst's Hamburg ocean-going commercial trade fleet was established, and the size of this fleet reached eleven ships. The size of the German region is not small.
Including the Hechingen ocean-going fleet in the Mediterranean Sea with Trieste as its home port, Ernst’s merchant fleet has reached more than 50 ships.
Many of these ships ran the Far East to East Africa route, slowly replacing the hired Dutch merchant ships.
The main task of the newly established Hamburg ocean-going commercial trading fleet is to help Ernst bring some machinery and equipment to East Africa while undertaking the ocean-going trade in the German region.
After all, unlike the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the low-level people in the German region have a high level of education and are not easy to fool, so immigration is not the main task.
The ships under Ernst's name are not small. After all, the bigger the ship, the better.
Among them, Venice's own shipyard builds only single-digit ships for its own use, and most of them are purchased from European countries.
With the promotion of new steam ships, especially the appearance of ironclad ships, the price of traditional sailing ships has been falling, so Ernst bought a batch of good-quality ocean-going sailing ships without much effort.
If you add the ships seized from the Sultanate of Zanzibar, Ernst has more than sixty large ships in his hands.
Simultaneously with the establishment of the Hamburg ocean-going commercial trade fleet, there is also the new Hechingen Shipyard (Hamburg).
Eggs cannot be put in one basket, so the dismantling of the Hechingen Shipyard in Venice began accordingly.
As early as when the Martin Shipyard was acquired, Ernst added many German employees in the name of the boss, and now they will become the backbone of the Hechingen Shipyard (Hamburg).
Among these German employees, there are many Chinese interns, most of whom are students in Hechingen School. They are basically bought out for the second half of their lives, and they have to work in this industry until retirement.
The shipbuilding industry has always been an important industrial sector in Europe, and its employees have relatively high requirements for experience and education, so every experienced shipbuilder is an intangible wealth.
With the unification of Germany in the future and the outbreak of the German economy, the size of Hamburg's ocean-going commercial trade fleet will definitely be considerable in the future.
The Hechingen ocean-going fleet in the Austro-Hungarian Empire actually has relatively poor profitability, especially when going to East Africa. All the ships pulled are immigrants, so they can’t make any money at all. They can only rely on the special products brought back from East Africa when they return. Back to blood.
The ships on the Far East route are even more appalling. Most of them are mixed with people and goods, and immigrants and goods are put together.
Even if it is to rent a Dutch ship, it is so much money to pay back just to attract immigrants.
The important task of the fleet in the Port of Hamburg is to make profits. After the reunification of Germany, the number of merchant ships in the entire German region doubled, and it quickly became one of the top forces in the world's ocean trade.
For example, the Hexingen Consortium, the development of commodities and banking business of the company under its name needs to develop the world market.
The transportation of goods in the German region and the import of goods, these are good businesses in the future, even if you are a second-hand dealer, you will have a bright future.
In addition to making money, accumulating experience, technology and talents for the future East African colonies is also one of the reasons.
With the progress of the industrial revolution, the update speed of the shipbuilding industry is also getting faster and faster, and more and more new technologies are applied to shipbuilding.
If the future is not to fall behind the times, it is not enough to rely on the Venetian shipyard alone. We all know the two centers of the second industrial revolution.
One is Germany and the other is the United States. Ernst in the United States cannot get involved, but Germany is currently Ernst's basic base.
As a member of the Hohenzollern family, Ernst himself is a member of the ruling class in the German region, and his interests are deeply bound to the German region.
With the help of the development of science and technology in Germany's second industrial revolution, Ernst can reserve technology and talents for East Africa in the future.
Germany is the present, and East Africa is the future. The order cannot be random. Only under the protection of the Prussian government can the current Hechingen Consortium develop and grow.
Only when the East African colonies in the future are able to withstand the frenzy of European countries to divide Africa, can Ernst dare to transfer the main body of the industry to East Africa.
Otherwise, the other colonists would be in vain, and Ernst would have nowhere to cry.
Using Germany as an industrial incubator in East Africa was safe at least before World War I, and Germany is currently in a dividend period of technological explosion.
High-end technology and talents are not comparable to Venice, which can be seen through the German Navy during World War I.
Although the German navy failed in the end, how many opponents in the world could wrestle with Britain at sea at that time?
Only the Americans are not bad, even the French are left behind in the ocean arms race.
So Germany's crazy expansion of sea power after reunification is still backed by a strong education system and the accumulation of technology from the second industrial revolution.
In the future, if the shipbuilding industry in East Africa wants to enjoy this dividend, it can only accumulate slowly in the German region.
East Africa’s future positioning is to be a maritime power along the coast of the Indian Ocean, so the shipbuilding industry cannot be procrastinated. Since East Africa currently does not have the ability and strength to develop the shipbuilding industry by itself, it should first practice hard work in the German region.
East Africa currently has four excellent ports, and with the development of the East African colonies, the demand for cargo transportation is also increasing.
In the future, other ports will also be developed, such as in Kenya and southern Tanzania, and they will all have great potential in the future.
In addition, the large inland lakes in East Africa will also need inland ships in the future, so it is right to accumulate experience first, technology and talents.
The lakes in East Africa are all big guys, and the water transportation and inner lake fishing industry are inseparable from the development of ships, especially the Great Lakes (Lake Victoria), whose shipping value will have at least a quarter of the potential of the five Great Lakes in North America in the future.
And Lake Solon (Lake Tanganyika), Lake Malawi, Lake Friedrichshaw...all have demands for surface ships.
These lakes are deep inland, have important economic and strategic value, and have great potential for the development of surface and underwater ships required for their development.
(end of this chapter)